Local singer Tony Wang locates his American father 41 years later

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Tony Wang (王湯尼), the lead singer of a Taiwanese rock band, was at the center of Father's Day special reports recently, receiving wide coverage by local news outlets on the news of the recent discovery of his American father whom he finally saw via the Internet for the first time in 41 years.

Wang, 41, began receiving national attention when his band, Monkey Pilot (猴子飛行員), was named Best Band at the Golden Melody Awards (金曲獎) last year. Reportedly, Wang never met his father, who was a U.S. serviceman stationed in Taiwan over 41 years ago. Wang's father was said to have left the country right before he was born when Taiwan and the U.S. severed ties.

Local reports stated that Tony's official journey to find his father began when lawyer and former Legislator Chiu Chang (邱彰) was introduced to Wang with the aim of shooting a film about people with American and Taiwanese parentage.

Wang stated that his mother left him to be raised by his nanny when he was only 13 days old to work in Japan, where she currently resides.

The story goes that Wang's mother remained in contact with Wang's biological father following his birth. However, the communication was severed when his Japanese step-father discovered his parent's communications and tore their letters apart. The corner of an envelope was allegedly rescued by Wang's mother from a fire, and was also stained with her blood when she was physically abused as a result of his step-father discovering the letters.

With the help from Chiu and Kuomintang Legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒), Wang was able to enlist the help of the Ministry of National Defense, which led them to an old communications channel. The group reportedly got in contact with a former American soldier named Rick, who helped Wang to get a phone number from a U.S. veteran Facebook group.

Father to See Wang and his Band in October

Wang was said to have contacted the given number on July 10. Wang said that he left a message in the number's voicemail, stating his mother's name and that he has been searching for his father for 41 years.

In less than a day, Wang received a telephone reply, which he said he answered and began to cry. According to Wang, he questioned his father as to why the man never tried to make contact. Wang's father reportedly replied, also in tears, that he assumed that he was hated by Wang and his mother, to which Wang said that he has never hated his father and is dying to meet him.

Wang's father reportedly said that he is planning to come to Taiwan in October, where he plans to attend Wang's concerts and buy souvenirs including CDs and commemorative T-shirts.